School campuses to reopen Thursday after escaped fugitive caught (update)

Taipei, May 22 (CNA) The campuses of schools in northern Taiwan will reopen to the public during non-school hours on Thursday, following the capture late Wednesday of an escaped fugitive in New Taipei.

Taipei, New Taipei and Keelung cities and Yilan County all announced the reopenings on Wednesday evening, after saying earlier in the day that the school campuses would remain closed to the public for an indefinite period.

The escaped fugitive, identified as Chien Yu-hung (簡郁紘), fled from a secure facility at a Keelung hospital on May 19, where he was receiving court-ordered treatment for mental illness, police said.

The 39-year-old was found guilty in August 2023 of attempted murder after assaulting a pedestrian with a glass bottle seven months earlier.

Following Chien's diagnosis of schizophrenia, Taipei District Court sentenced him to five years of medical guardianship to be followed by a three-year prison sentence.

After his escape from custodial protection, Chien traveled across the Greater Taipei area, including Badouzi fishing port and Ruifang transport, before taking an intercity bus to Taipei's Nanjing Sanmin MRT Station.

On Monday, Chien was found to have taken the Taipei Metro from Longshan Temple Station to Xinpu Station in Banqiao, at which point the authorities stepped up the search in New Taipei.

The New Taipei City Police Department announced Wednesday that it arrested Chien at an apartment building on Shuangfeng Road in Xinzhuang District at around 7:30 p.m.